The Shinobi
by ubertrunks
Summary: A cell of ninja is ambushed in the forest.     Sequel to "The Kunoichi"
1. Chapter 1

**This is the sequel to "The Kunoichi", which can be read by going to my profile**

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><p>It was far from peaceful in the forest. It was raining awfully hard and visibility was low. The raindrops were splashing loudly on the ground. Visible only during the sporadic flashes of lightning was a cell of four ninja standing under a large group of trees, their faces hidden in the shadows. A deafening crack of thunder rolled across the forest as a small flicker of light appeared in front of one of the ninja, illuminating the hopeless look on his face.<p>

"**CRACK!**"

"-here!" The ninja shouted. The first part of his sentence was inaudible due to a loud crack of thunder and the sound of splattering raindrops. He took a drag of the cigarette he had just lit, the ash of which glowed in the night. "We'll — storm passes! Try — sleep –"

The other ninja seemed to understand his command. They set up a few tents and put their sleeping bags on the ground under them. The storm would pass soon. They had about an hour-and-a-half to get some sleep before they would continue on. Two of the ninja fell asleep immediately due to the fact that they hadn't slept in days. The leader of the group stood there silently as he smoked his cigarette. The other ninja who was awake suddenly, and without any reason for doing so, dispersed like a flash into the dark forest. The leader took notice of his absence and let his guard down momentarily while he wondered what he was up to.

Moments later, another flash of lighting and its resounding crack of thunder revealed the blood-spattered body of the ninja leader on the ground, his cigarette still held loosely between his lips. Standing around the body were the figures of three samurai. One of the samurai flicked the blood off of his sword and placed it back in the sheath.

"Go take care of the other two!"He shouted. "They are in those tents over there! Hurry!" The two samurai followed his order and proceeded to silently execute one of the two remaining ninja.

A kunoichi sprang from one of the other tents. She had not made the same mistake her comrades had; she had not let her guard down. It was over in a matter of seconds. Two of the three samurai lay motionless in a pool of blood. They had let their guard down as well. The remaining samurai jumped backwards and avoided the attacks of the kunoichi. The thrusts and slashes of her kunai knife clanged loudly against the sword of her opponent as she dodged the samurai's slashes and attempted to counterattack his moves. She focused her chakra and punched the ground with such force that it created a crater in the ground. The resulting shockwave hurled the samurai through the air. He landed hard on his back. The kunoichi wasted no time in her relentless assault. She was standing over him in an instant, her kunai knife held tightly in her hands, as he pleaded for his life. This wasn't the last time she would kill a helpless enemy in cold blood. She disposed of him quickly and turned her attention back to her comrades.

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><p>The war continued on for two years. The ninja alliance had crumbled and the samurai soon overpowered the now unorganized ninja. The first village to fall was Suna, the Village Hidden in the Sand. The sand ninja were defenseless against the onslaught of the entire samurai army. Over time, the other hidden villages began to fall. Among the villages that remained after the war were Konohagakure and Kirigakure.<p>

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><p>The kunoichi stood before the Memorial Stone with a bouquet of flowers in her hands. She looked through the names on the list, stopping at a few names in particular:<p>

_Nara Shikamaru (Killed in Action)_

_Aburame Shino (Killed in Action)_

_Uzumaki Naruto (Missing in Action)_

"Sakura," Said a shinobi from behind her. She turned around and faced him. He could tell that she had been crying, as her eyes were very red. He grabbed her hands before continuing. "please cheer up."

"He's still alive, I know it." She spoke to herself softly. The shinobi leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.

"Let me take you out to lunch, Sakura." He said with a smile. "I promise it will make you feel better!"

"Stop it, Sai." Was her response. The shinobi wore a bemused look on his face.

"Stop what?" He asked. The kunoichi wiped the tears off her cheeks and then smiled at him.

"Stop acting normal." She ordered. "It's freaking me out."

Sai laughed, understand the sarcasm in her comment. He led her to a nearby restaurant where they would sit down and eat lunch together.

"Do you really think he's still alive after all these years?" He asked after wiping his mouth with a napkin. Sakura swallowed her food and then responded.

"Well, yeah." She said. "I mean, Naruto would never allow himself to be captured like that. He was strong." They sat in silence as they finished their meals before Sai spoke again.

"If you really think he's still alive then you should try to find him." He said as he walked her home. "That's what I would do."

"I might just do that." She said before opening the door to her house. "Thanks for walking me home, Sai. I'll see you later."


	2. Chapter 2

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sakura asked. Her temper was beginning to rise again.

"Would you listen for a moment?" He asked politely. Sakura began to raise her fist as if she was going to strike him.

"Why are you acting like this, Naruto?" She said. "Just tell me everything before I kill you right now!"

"I'm not sure why you still believe he is alive." He said, sounding a little apathetic. "He died a long time ago"

"What do you mean?" She said as a muddled look crossed her face. "Who are you?"

"I am the speaker. I am the first of many you will meet on your journey to the city. I will speak about your destiny" He explained. "You will make it to the city, that I'm sure of. What I'm not sure of is whether or not you will like what you find there. Questions?"

"What the fu…" She said, her voice trailing off. "You said I will meet many on my journey? And the journey… Where am I supposed to go? Will I journey alone?"

"You will not journey alone. When you find the Shinobi, he will join you on your journey. That is all you need to know." The speaker said.

"Who is this Shinobi?" Sakura asked.

"I have told you all you need to know. We will meet again when the time is necessary." He told her. Sakura watched as he began to sink into the ground.

"What the fuck was that?" She asked herself. "Is this for real? My past? I don't know what the hell to think anymore after that!"

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><p>The Kunoichi became furious with herself after her encounter with the speaker. All she wanted was answers. She wanted to know why Naruto had betrayed the ninja and joined the samurai. After talking to the speaker, she began to wonder if it was all a part of something bigger. She wandered aimlessly, hoping for something to happen. A few months passed, and she found herself living in a small village in the Land of Water. She had taken a job as a nurse at a local clinic. He medical ninjutsu skill proved useful, as did her chakra control. She had lost her thirst for revenge after meeting the speaker. For the first couple of months she firmly believed that none of what he said to her was true<p>

Sakura thought about things very often. She thought about the speaker, about the city, and about the Shinobi. She had started to believe everything when she decided that she had lost her mind. Her insanity eventually drove her to commit suicide.

The Kunoichi used some of the money she had been saving and purchased a small boat. She floated far out on the ocean. She tied her legs together with some rope. After that, she created two small loops with rope, stuck her hands through them, and then pulled the rope tight with her teeth. There was only one person on her mind as she fell backwards towards the dark blue water.

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><p><strong>"Sakura?"<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

"Sakura?"

She could hear a voice coming from the depths of the ocean as she sank. She noticed that the daylight that was visible above the water was starting to fade away. She sank deeper into the ocean until finally she was so deep that she was completely surrounded by darkness. The voice called out to her again.

"Sakura?"

Her plan was not working. She found herself still breathing even though she was hundreds of feet below water. She carefully slid her hands out of the rope she had tied them with, leaving burn marks on her wrists. She then untied her legs, which was quite difficult to do in complete darkness. Sakura started swimming even deeper into the abyss, hoping to find out who the voice that was calling out to her belonged to. She saw a small bit of light at the very bottom of the ocean.

She continued on towards this small glimmer of light. When she finally reached the bottom, she stopped and looked with a look of awe in her face.

There was an average sized wooden door. It lay flat on the floor of the ocean. Light was coming through the frame of the door, illuminating the scene before the kunoichi. She reached out to the brass doorknob and grasped it in her hands. She had to make a decision. If she opened the door, she would likely find something she would not like. She remembered the things the speaker had told her. She needed to go through this door no matter what. This was the path to The Shinobi, and ultimately, the path to the City.

She turned the doorknob and swung the door open. What she saw through the doorframe was something she almost couldn't comprehend. It seemed to be a memory from her past, but something was just a little off about it. She saw through the eyes of her former self as she stared through the open doorway.

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><p><em>"Sakura?"<em>

_Sakura was in a sort of shellshock after fully realizing the level of calamity that surrounded her. The screams coming from outside of her house continued to sound as her vision began to fade. She knelt on the ground and stared into the blurred face of her lover, Sai._

_"Sakura?"_

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><p>Sakura slammed the door shut and thought about what she had just seen. Something in her brain clicked and she suddenly realized exactly what was going on. She knew she had to not only open the door again, but this time she needed to go through the door to the other side. She decided she would meditate for the time being, and prepare herself mentally for what was about to happen.<p>

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><p>Sai quickly peeked out the window. The samurai were inside the village walls and moving quickly towards their direction. They needed to escape or they would surely be killed. He began to shake the kunoichi in an attempt to free her from the stupor that had overwhelmed her.<p>

"Sakura?" He questioned again, "Sakura, we have to leave! Now!"

It was no use. Sakura was completely out of it.

After realizing that she would not be back to reality for a while, Sai picked her up and carried her over to the couch. He rested her on the couch and went to her bedroom to gather some supplies. He grabbed her backpack, which he began to hastily stuff with knives, shuriken, and even a few scrolls he found lying around. He leaped back into the living room and then into the kitchen, where he grabbed some canned food. He stuffed it into the backpack and then slung it over his back. He went to the couch where he had placed Sakura and carried her over his shoulders. He raced to the back door of the house and kicked it open.

He ran as fast as he could towards the village wall. He used his chakra to walk up the wall, still carrying Sakura over his shoulders. When he reached the top, he turned back and beheld the chaotic panorama of the village.

Most of the village was now set ablaze. The silhouettes of the samurai were visible here and there amidst the fiery devastation. They went house to house, as ordered, and killed every single person in the village.

The only two that would escape were already on their way down the other side of the village wall. When Sai finally reached the ground on the other side, he took off running. His surroundings became a blur as he dashed through the forest. He didn't stop running until he finally grew too tired to continue on a few hours later. He set Sakura, who was still unconscious, down on a soft patch of grass. Sai took a deep breath and sat down on the ground next to her.

The good news was that he was able to remain calm throughout this whole situation. On the other hand, there was nothing good about this situation at all. His village had been massacred. He and Sakura were the only two survivors. Sai had no idea what he was going to do next.


End file.
